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It’s enough that girls must have pink clothing, pink bedrooms, and glittery pink cell phones. It’s enough that girls are taught to recite “pink” as their favorite color. It’s enough that Barbie’s 3-Story Dream Townhouse and Pop-Up Camper are pink. But Legos? Do we really need to force pink Legos on our girls?

Last week, this blog post entitled OMG! I’m Going to Be a Grandmother and I Hate Gender Marketing, caused quite a stir. The author makes the case that while she expects princesses to be pink, there is no practical reason why a corn popper push toy for a girl needs to be pink, and sold side-by-side with the blue popper for boys. There is no logic for the girl’s parking garage to be pink while the boy’s parking garage is red and yellow. Why can’t girls and boys park their cars in the same garage?

I wondered – do girls really prefer pink? Is there a case for the toy companies to market separate colors for boys and girls? According to this article in Time Science, there is indeed a difference in color preference between genders; women chose the redder shades of blue (those with reddish-purple tones) while men chose the greener shades of blue. But the study found that both genders universally prefer blue.

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I don’t know much about children, except that boys and girls play and learn differently, but this same discussion has been going on for a decade in the world of consumer electronics. There’s a ton of data about how women don’t necessarily want pink gadgets but that’s what gets made, and bought. I some way, I think that women and girls just want something that is made with them in mind. That pink is the color designated for that may be something else altogether.

I am leading a global movement set to create an alternative marketplace where parents and educators can buy products that are either gender neutral or that counter stereotypes. This project has support of an awesome group of non for profits, experts and social business. The movement is called AChainofGirlGoodness.com

Great Article! I also think that most toys marketed toward girls are homemaking toys and toys marketed to boys are action toys that involve movement outside of the home. The fact that they are color specific helps girls and boys both know what color of toy they should play with and therefore begins defining gender roles for them and reinforcing them for the rest of the world who buys those products for girls and boys sees the play with them. A boy interested in a kitchen set eventually won’t play with it if it’s pink because he will think it is for girls and the message gets taught- cooking is for girls. The learning of gender roles through toys is amazingly clear to children at very young ages. I wonder if girls and boys play differently because they are conditioned to do so according to their gender. There is no way to completely eliminate the influence of gender stereotypes. Very interesting. As a parent of a toddler son, I am constantly aware of and unsure what to do about gender stereotyping and toys, clothes, sippy-cups, etc. Thanks- Liza Wolff-Francis, Matrifocal Point

I write often about gender stereotyping and that includes the color pink. http://www.princessfreezone.com/pfz-blog/2012/3/2/hey-color-pink-its-not-your-fault.html Nobody is against pink per say, it is just this notion that it is the only way to appeal to girls. It also causes boys to be completely anti-pink. I started my company as an alternative to all the princess stuff primarily because I had a little girl who simply rejected all things girly. But I believe that choice is necessary to letting kids be themselves.